Penn State men’s hockey set to host talented Michigan squad for 2-game series starting Thursday

Casual sports fans probably remember the Fab Five, the paradigm, sport- and society-changing group of five freshmen in the same class who made Michigan basketball special, if not completely successful, in the early 1990s.

The group reached the Final Four twice but never won a national championship.

This season the second-ranked Michigan hockey team has its own highly talented group, a Super Seven.

That’s seven first-round NHL Draft picks — the most ever on a college team — and six other players who are NHL selections. They skate into Pegula Ice Arena this week for a two-game series against No. 19 Penn State.

“They’ve done a great job recruiting, a great job. It’s a credit to them, to this league and to college hockey,” Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said. “From our standpoint, this is a great opportunity to learn a lot about ourselves.”

Gadowsky believes — he has to — that a consistent, focused team effort can produce results against an arguably more talented opponent. Penn State has three draft picks on its roster.

“I’m a little bit of a romantic that way,” Gadowsky said. “I think that groups of people that believe in each other and pull the same way can continue to surprise people.”

Michigan, which averages 4.1 goals per game, fourth best in the nation, is 7-0 when scoring first this season.

Penn State has scored first in its last six games and has outscored opponents 12-3 in the opening period. Still, the Nittany Lions had trouble finishing last week against Ohio State, leading early in both games before eventually dropping both by three-goal deficits.

“We did not play to our ability in the third [period],” Gadowsky said. “Some of that is personal commitment, mental toughness. It’s a good lesson to learn.”

No. 19 Penn State (6-3-0, 0-2-0 Big Ten) vs. No. 2 Michigan (8-2-0, 3-1-0)

Series: 8:30 p.m. Thursday, 7 p.m. Friday

Radio/TV: Big Ten Network (Thursday), 103.1 FM and GoPSUsports.com

Notable: This is the first time the Michigan hockey team (Thursday-Friday) and football team (Saturday) have visited Happy Valley at the same week. … Michigan swept Michigan State by scores of 7-2 and 3-2 last weekend. … Sophomore forward Brendan Brisson leads Michigan with seven goals this season. … Penn State dropped both games of a series against Ohio State last weekend. … Junior forward Connor MacEachern has scored at least one goal in the past three games for the Nittany Lions.